Bolts’ defense continues to grow

When Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin flipped on the film of the Chargers’ win over Kansas City last week, he didn’t see any dramatic changes from the Bolts’ defense in their first game under defensive Ron Rivera.

“If there are any differences, they’re very subtle at this point,” Tomlin said. “As we move forward, I’m sure that Ron’s personality and imprint will become more evident on how they play and what it is they do from a schematic standpoint. That being the first time out, I’m sure there are going to be more differences as we proceed.”

On Thursday, Rivera agreed with Tomlin’s evaluation. The Bolts were able to tweak a few things against the Chiefs and will likely be a little more different this week in Pittsburgh, but Rivera believes change is a process.

“You can’t make wholesale changes,” Rivera said. “We’ve got to pick and choose what we’re doing. We got a little bit of it this week, we’ve got a little bit more coming up.”

One of Rivera’s biggest goals has been to simplify the playbook and get players in better positions to make plays. That involves some new concepts, but that Rivera believes that familiarity is also important, which means everything can’t change immediately.

“You can’t really just come in and say, ‘Okay, get rid of, get rid of…’ because that’s what you’ve been practicing for a year and a half,” Rivera said. “It’s going to continue.”

Since becoming the club’s defensive coordinator two weeks ago, Rivera has tried to create some changes, but perhaps his best work came on the fly during Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. The Chargers hoped to pressure Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen more affectively, but when the Chiefs came out throwing on three-step drops, Rivera and his staff quickly rethought that idea.

“What they were doing offensively almost dictated what we had to adapt to as well,” Rivera said. “When I tried to attack it, all he did was get rid of the ball quickly. “We weren’t going to get the kind of pressure we’d hoped to, so we adapted and said, ‘Okay, we’ll play this call.’”

The adjustments worked out well. Kansas City gained just 106 yards in the second half and scored just six points. In the third quarter, the Chiefs had just 14 plays.

“The biggest thing about it, we were able to put the guys in place to make plays,” Rivera said.

Attention Norv: Shotgun may be a way to neutralize a strong Steelers pass rush. Mix in the no huddle and you make things even more difficult.

(And Philip, remember these words "The Tight End is your Best Friend")

jes sayin'

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That is precisely how I have suggested they open the game. Give Rivers a list of options that vary with the initial defense alignments and allow him to call from the line of scrimmage, taking what they give us. He has the smarts and experience to do that now and the no huddle would fit the strategy I favor to a tee. The last thing we want to do is dictate the run.